Why I Started Selling Direct to Customers (And Stopped Using Middlemen)"
How I switched from middlemen to direct sales and tripled my profit per bird. Real strategy for Ugandan poultry farmers. For my first 6 months, I sold every bird to a middleman. He set the price. He chose the time. He made the profit. Then I did the math and realized I was working for his business, not mine. Today, 80% of my sales go directly to customers — restaurants, households, and a WhatsApp group. Here's how I made the switch. 1. The Middleman Math (Why I Quit) Channel Price/kg My Profit/kg Middleman (live weight) 8,000 UGX 1,500 UGX Direct to restaurant 12,000 UGX 5,500 UGX Direct to household 15,000 UGX 8,500 UGX Same bird. Same feed cost. 3x more profit when I sell direct. 2. How I Found My First Direct Customers I didn't have a marketing budget. I used what I had: Step 1: Posted on my personal Facebook: "...